Other than the usual clothes and stuff, I didn’t notice any particularly noteworthy differences to point out in iteration six (#15524 in the series itself). In fact, I even found myself starting to doze off several times because it was the same old, and I knew all the lines already. Being the completionist that I am though, I can’t not watch the episode just in case something does change or they do finally end it, so I’m resigned to the fact that I’ll have to sit through this at least one or twice more, if not five or ten. What still irks me is that they put in a full animation effort into each of these episodes, effort that could be used on episodes with new material. We could be an entire novel volume further by now, but no, more Endless Eight.

Another week, another iteration, and another non-ending. I was hoping that the rumor from a few weeks back was true and that this would all indeed be finally done this week, but alas, no go. So now we can look forward to probably two more weeks of this (for a true eight), or five more to last us all the way through August, or even nine or ten more if they plan on going with this all the way to the end of the season. But Kyoto Animation wouldn’t do that to us would they? :(

The whole thing with Yamamoto Yutaka’s apology this past weekend at Otakon and Kyoto Animation’s subsequent disowning statement (“These are the words of someone who has no relationship to our company”) didn’t exactly shed a positive light on the company either, so I’m not sure what to make of the situation anymore.

Aside from what I mentioned earlier, I didn’t notice much that sets this iteration (#15521, which equals over 595 years as Kyon calculates) apart from the others. The brief conversation Kyon has with Yuki was done during the test of courage instead of at the batting center, and Kyon later doodles the number 8 on the completed list – I wonder if that’s a sign of how long this will go. I also thought I saw a few people in the background during the pool scene who resembled other characters from Kyoto Animation shows – specifically Nagisa and Ritsu – but those were distance shots where it’s hard to tell for sure, so it might have just been a coincidence. In any case, this’ll supposedly all end next week on the sixth Endless Eight episode, and while I of course will be watching, I’m not getting my hopes up.

So not only was Haruhi once again looped on Endless Eight, it even had a loop inside the episode. The shot you see above with Haruhi getting up to leave was repeated four times as Kyon tried to figure out what to do to stop her. The very end of the episode then wasted another 30 seconds on a ticking clock (with the camera turning with the second hand) which stopped right before midnight. Next week could be the final Endless Eight episode though, so maybe this’ll finally be over.

I did laugh though at this comment I saw on AnimeSuki’s forums: “It takes less time for Goku to summon a spirit bomb than it takes for this arc to end. ” :D

I’m going to forgo a summary again since it’s pretty much the same set of events, though this episode is probably a bit closer to episode 13 than last week’s episode. I do want point out a couple of the differences though because they might be important. First, they seemed to focus on the clouds and the airplane symbol a lot, and it even appeared on the back of Mikuru’s t-shirt. Knowing how this arc is supposed to end, I suspect this is a red herring, but since this anime adaptation has already broken from the original novels, they could be doing something different. The other thing was that there seemed to be a larger amount of focus on Yuki than previously, which I’ve been told is important for later past this arc.

None of this changes the fact that they could be making much better use of this time if they had ended this arc two episodes ago and moved on to the next one. But they didn’t, so Endless Eight again next week, and I’m once again expecting it not to conclude.

Surprise surprise, another repeat. This week’s episode of Haruhi ended just like the past weeks did, with Kyon unable to do anything. According to Yuki, this was iteration #15513. Pretty much everything I said last week still applies, and the possibility that this goes eight times total or all the way till the end of real-world August is getting bigger. Regardless, Endless Eight again next week.

Since this episode was basically the exact same as last episode, I’m not even going to bother with a summary this week. All of the changes were relatively minor (their clothes, Yuki wearing the mask this time, Haruhi not needing to be prompted about cicadas, and so on), though Kyon was slightly more suspicious this time around. Like last week, Kyoto Animation reanimated everything from different angles and with different shots, and it sounded like all the lines were re-recorded too. I’m sure by the end of all this, if not already, the voice actors will be able to recite those lines by heart.

I can’t decide if Kyoto Animation is doing this to troll us, or if they’re buying time so that they don’t have to actually cover all that much new material, or if this is stunt for the sake of pulling a stunt, or what. Whatever the reason, as I said earlier, I’m really hoping that they don’t do this for eight straight episodes or for the rest of the season. I wouldn’t put it past them though, and I’ll probably go into next weeks episode expecting it not to conclude again.

Well, the Endless Eight arc didn’t finish again. In fact, it ended pretty much exactly like the last episode did, with Kyon putting things off, which means we’re in for the same stuff again next week. And who knows, maybe they really will keep it going for the rest of the series – the thought of it makes me shudder. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Kyoto Animation would try a stunt like this, however it’s very discouraging for someone like me who wants to see more new stuff. It certainly doesn’t give me any extra motivation to blog this episode or watch next week’s, but of course I still will (though it’ll be after I write up Umineko). Ugh…

In my dark and depressing pre-20 anime per week days, I would usually scoff at those who listened to anime and game OSTs – why listen to some pew pew soundtrack when you could be listening to… oh, Puff Daddy or DMX or uhh Ayumi Hamasaki. Y’know – cool people music.

Ah, those were the days. Since then my music collection has slowly been overtaken by an abundance of [nipponsei], and I’ve even uploaded some Youtube videos of me playing those same songs I used to scoff at.

Times have changed, and I’ve really started to appreciate the amount of talent that goes into this kind of composing. Still, I believe there’s a difference between the music that goes into the likes of K-ON and that of Gundam, specifically it how well it translates to classical orchestra music.

Which is why I was thoroughly surprised with Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou, the concert by the Tokyo Philharmonic on April 29 that was just released on CD. The music from Haruhi was largely… teenybopper and/or rock, both of which I wouldn’t imagine translating well into classical.

Surprisingly enough, the adaptation is quite good! Some tracks remind me of Hisaishi’s work in Totoro, others sound like it could’ve come out of some classic Disney movie. Well, the instrumental tracks, at least. Several tracks have Hirano Aya and Chihara Minori blaring away, and while some of you will probably love these alternate versions, their inability to hit or hold the right notes is a bit hard on my ears.

As expected, there was a new episode of Haruhi today, Endless Eight, and with it came a new OP: Super Driver by Hirano Aya. As you might know, I’m not a very big fan of hers when it comes to singing (bad memories of LOVE GUN still linger), and this didn’t really change my opinion any, but regardless of whether or not you like her music, the animation that goes with it still a fun watch.

Oh yea, you heard me. The first episode of long awaited, mistakenly self-trolled, probably way overhyped anime to end all anime Suzumiya Haruhi is currently airing on Saitama TV, entitled “Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody”. Suffice to say, 2ch is going crazy, and I have crapped my pants.